This summer, Elliot ran the entire length of Iceland for two causes close to his heart… and broke a Guinness World Record in the process.
Elliot and his trainer, Ed, spoke to us about what it was like to tackle the 441-mile route through the extreme Icelandic landscape.
They also told us about the two loved ones who inspired this adventure: Ed’s daughter, Ellia, who had life-saving surgery at Bristol Children’s Hospital, and Elliot’s friend, Eli, who went missing while hiking in New Zealand earlier this year.
The World Record-Breaking Challenge
Elliot endured a devastating personal tragedy this year when his friend, Eli Sweeting, went missing in the mountains of New Zealand.
Like Elliot, Eli was an adventurer, so Elliot wanted to honour his friend by taking on the kind of extreme challenge that they both loved.
“He unfortunately went missing in May after attempting to solo climb up a mountain in the South Island of New Zealand,” Elliot said. “Having lived in New Zealand myself, I know exactly why he attempted this. It is a beautiful and free location filled with many fun challenges that would have put one of those smiles on his face.”
Elliot ran 16 or 17 hours a day to complete his challenge, with the final day stretching to 20 hours of running! His route took him across mountains and ice-cold rivers, past volcanoes and through Europe’s biggest and most remote deserts.
But, after nine days, four hours and 51 minutes and 441 miles, he’d made it from the southernmost point of Iceland to the northernmost point.
Ed told us: “It was a privilege to support Elliot. I mean that in a very literal sense: it’s not every day you get to see a superhuman win against such a massive challenge, and I was very lucky to go with him.
There were lots of problems to solve: vehicle failures, kit repairs, trying to find witnesses to confirm the world record in a desert… it was great fun!
I think the toughest part was towards the end of the nine days. By this time, sleep deprivation was affecting our decisions, and we made mistakes which cost Elliot even more miles.
But he somehow managed to push through the pain and could always find hope; I think that’s what makes him so incredible and inspiring. ‘You can do anything you set your mind to’ – Elliot is the living definition of that mindset, and I’ll never forget watching him prove it.”
Fundraising for Eli and Ellia
Every step of the way, the duo raised funds in honour of Eli and Ellia.
Elliot and Ed pledged that half of the money would go towards a memorial bench for Eli in a location chosen by his family.
They chose to donate the other half of their funds to Bristol Children’s Hospital as a thank you for saving the life of Ed’s little girl, Ellia.
Ellia’s Story
In 2024, Ellia was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, which threatened her life.
Ed shared the story of Ellia’s diagnosis and the turbulent weeks that followed for their family:
“It all started when I picked up our daughter from school. Ellia, who was a perfectly healthy, five-year-old kid, just loving life, said to me, ‘Daddy, I don’t feel like walking today’.
So, I just picked her up, and I carried her home, which is where her condition worsened into acute bruising and joint pain. It was Bristol Children’s Hospital that diagnosed Ellia with a very rare autoimmune disease called IgA Vasculitis (IgAV). We learnt that IgAV is where the body starts attacking its own small blood vessels and there is no real cure other than to wait it out for a few months while the body calms down.
We stayed at Bristol Children’s Hospital for a few days of monitoring as they prepared us on how to manage Ellia’s new symptoms. We spent the following week adjusting to her new disabilities from home. Sadly, a week later, the IgAV aggressively attacked her again, and we had to rush back into the hospital, where they gave her the first of two life-saving operations.
Bristol Children’s Hospital became Ellia’s new home for the next month, where the expert teams battled her further IgAV attacks and ultimately helped Ellia re-learn how to walk, eat and play again. It was such a scary time for us all, not least for Ellia – keeping a five-year-old inside the hospital for a month is tough! But, somehow, the teams at the hospital got her through – got us all through – with a lot of love, kindness and fantastic skill.
After that month, Ellia came home and now, amazingly, 18 months on, she’s completely fine: back to school, bouncing on trampolines and taking dance lessons. As her parents, we are so incredibly grateful that she’s still under the watchful eye of Bristol Children’s Hospital should the IgAV ever return.
When Ellia was sick, the teams moved mountains to save her and get her back on the road to recovery. It’s not something you would ever want to experience, seeing your child needing that level of care. Every day is terrifying, sickening, exhausting and overwhelming.
Ed, Ellia’s dadWhen you witness the massive scale of organisation and energy that it takes to look after hundreds of very sick kids all at the same time, it’s humbling to the core. It’s a reminder of our most important duty as people – to look after one another.
Elliot’s challenge was our chance to give back, to put our shoulders to the wheel as the hundreds of staff at the Bristol Children’s Hospital had done to help Ellia and all the other sons and daughters in need.”
Becoming a World-Record Holder
Finishing the challenge was bittersweet for Elliot, who loved the experience of running and fundraising for such meaningful causes.
He said: “I’m really happy to have achieved it, but in the miles leading up to the finish line, I was sad that I was coming to the end of having such important causes to work towards. I was even sadder when I thought about how these causes don’t really get to end: children don’t stop being sick, and Eli unfortunately doesn’t stop being missing.”
A month after Elliot and Ed returned from Iceland, Elliot received his official Guinness World Record in his post.
It reads: ‘The fastest crossing of Iceland on foot is nine days four hours 51 mins and was achieved by Elliot Jenkins (New Zealand), in Iceland, from 18 June to 27 June 2025.’
On top of this phenomenal achievement, the pair raised an incredible £2,453. As their challenge was entirely self-funded, all this money was spilt between their chosen causes.
They’ve donated £1,226 to Bristol Children’s Hospital, which will support other sick children like Ellia through funding services like music therapy, our free home-from-home accommodation for parents and cutting-edge technology.
The rest of the money was used to install a memorial bench for Eli in Brandon Hill Park in Bristol, a place where Eli’s family have lovely memories.
We can’t thank Elliot and Ed enough for the incredible lengths they’ve gone to in support of children like Ellia.
If you’d like to experience Elliot breaking the World Record in real time, the adventurers shared regular updates from Iceland on Elliot’s Instagram account.
Feeling inspired by Elliot’s bravery?
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